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I turned slightly to catch Lemon’s gaze. “I get it now. I understand.”
“Good. Now what?”
Instead of answering her, I faced the incoming crew and stood silently until the last member was in the barn. There were thirty-four men altogether. Unless someone was on a mission, everyone stayed in the compound. Some stayed to themselves, others tended to mingle in the main clubhouse. But no one ever stayed anywhere but in the compound.
When the last men entered and the door was closed, I began.
“We’ve got a huge fuckin’ problem.” That got everyone’s attention. Bear crossed his arms over his chest and leveled his gaze on me, giving me his full and undivided attention. Several of the others did too, but more than a few gazes shifted anywhere but at me. “Crush. Tell me what you know about Hammer and Gina.”
The man glanced at his brother and, surprisingly, it was Byte who answered. “She was a runaway. Lived on the street from the time she was fifteen until Hammer picked her up a year and a half ago. She was nineteen then. Hooking to have a roof over her head, such as it was. From what I found out, she’d been prostituting herself since she left home. It was the only way she had enough money to eat.”
Lemon’s hand went to the back pocket of my jeans, curling there to hang on before she asked the next question. “What about her relationship with Hammer?”
Byte shook his head slightly, obviously uncomfortable and not liking what he was about to say. “He wasn’t good to her, Lemon. He smacked her around a lot. Never anything serious, but it wasn’t consensual.” Byte closed his eyes and opened his mouth to speak again, but nothing came out. He tried again. Still nothing.
Finally Crush, put a hand on his shoulder and continued for his brother. “When Hammer invited some of you guys over to share Gina, it wasn’t something she wanted. He forced her to do what he told her to through pain and manipulation.”
That got some uncomfortable murmurings. I heard the random “fuck” a couple of times.
“Are you serious?” Leather stepped forward, looking from Crush to me and back. “Are you saying we raped that girl?”
Byte dropped his head while Crush answered Leather. “Yeah, man. I’m afraid so.”
“So that’s why Byte warned us off.” I recognized the voice as Rattler. He was a newer member but hard working and always willing to help if someone needed it. It was hard to believe the man had a violent bone in his body, but he was most definitely a seasoned warrior.
“Yes,” Byte managed to get out.
Rattler stepped in the space between me and Lemon and the rest of the club, his head up. “I’ll accept whatever punishment you deem fit. Give Gina all my personal effects. There’s more than enough money for her to start a new life away from here if she wants.” The pain on the man’s face was obvious. It was hard to reconcile the gentle soul he usually presented with the deadly man I knew he had to be.
“I’m not finished,” I said, raising a hand. “This isn’t your fault, Rattler. Unless she specifically told you no, or gave you a reason to believe she didn’t want to be in that situation. You can’t read minds. Did she?”
Rattler shook his head. “No. But I should have known.”
“And how could you have? Just because Hammer offered to share her?” I was angry, but not at any man who’d been led to believe Gina was good with what he did to her. “We’ve all had women we’ve shared from time to time. Some of you’ve had steady lays who relished being passed around. Unless some of you continued fucking that girl when she indicated she didn’t want to, that’s not why I called you here. Having said that, Crush, do you or Byte know of anyone who knowingly raped Gina?”
This time, Byte answered immediately. “No, Rocket. No one intentionally raped her, and after I quietly warned everyone off, no one touched her again. But by that time, Hammer had left with Scarlet, so she was safe.”
“If she didn’t want to be here, once she found out Hammer was dead, why didn’t she just leave?” Piston’s question was valid. The older man didn’t speak much, but when he did everyone paid attention.
“Because Hammer told her this place was secret,” Lemon answered. “He said if she tried to leave, the men in the club would kill her. You know. After they’d finished with her.” The barn was completely silent as the men processed this.
“So, what you’re saying…” Bear shifted his position, bringing focus back to him. It was a move he did when he thought I might make a move on someone and he wanted to give me the best chance he could. “Is that we’ve kept a woman prisoner for over a year?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
He gave a deep sigh. “This is gonna be complicated.”
“I’ll take care of Gina.” Lemon moved to stand more fully beside me. Like we were partners in the club instead of just in the bedroom. Which we were. It was time the rest of Grim Road recognized it too. “If that’s taken care of?” She raised an eyebrow at Crush who nodded. “The real problem here is this whole situation could have been prevented.” She let that statement linger, piquing the curiosity of everyone around. “If you’d just talked to each other.”
“Not following.” Bear narrowed his gaze at her.
“She means we keep too many secrets from each other.”
“Crush knows every-fucking-thing,” Falcon said from the back. “Who else needs to know?”
“Well,” Lemon drawled. I winced because this was going to be epic. It was like watching a train barreling down the track, blaring its horn for the stupid motherfucker who drove his car onto the track when the light was clearly flashing yellow only to have it stall. There was going to be carnage and there was nothing you could do about it. All you could hope for was that said stupid motherfucker had enough sense to abandon his vehicle and run like hell. That… wasn’t Falcon. “If Claw hadn’t been so obsessed with keeping his secret, Scarlet would never have been abused the way she was. If Byte had felt comfortable bringing Hammer’s secret to Rocket, Gina might have been spared pain and humiliation. How many incidents have happened in this club that might have been prevented if you knew even the most fundamental things about each other?”
“Girl, you’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.” I’d give it to Falcon. He wasn’t one to quit while he was ahead. Well, he wasn’t ahead. But sometimes it’s best to know when you’re beaten and throw in the proverbial towel.
